At least four of the seven canvass board members charged with reviewing the Boulder County votes cast and counted in the 2012 general election have decided they can't certify the abstract of votes prepared by the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office.

On Saturday evening, canvass board member Daniel Martin said he and three others have concluded that they'll be unable to certify the election abstract with the information they've been given -- data he said has been inadequate -- and in the time the board has left in which to complete its post-election tasks.

Martin, one of two Republicans serving on the canvass board, said that's the decision that's been reached by him and Russ Boehm, the other GOP appointee on the panel, as well as the American Constitution Party's two appointed board members, Mary Eberle and Jim Remmert.

Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall, however, said in a separate Saturday night interview that the four canvass board members' position "has no impact on the election results."

Hall said the abstract of votes prepared by her staff is accurate and that she's confident that when it's transmitted to the Colorado Secretary of State's Office, that office will certify its accuracy.

The full canvass board -- whose other three members are Democratic Party appointees Paul Geissler and Pat Feeser and Hall, who's also a Democrat -- is scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m. Monday. Monday is the deadline for Colorado's 64 counties to submit their canvass board-certified abstracts of votes to the Secretary of State's Office -- or to forward their counties' non-certified abstracts, along with written reports detailing the reasons for non-certification.

Advertisement

Martin said he, Boehm, Eberle and Remmert met Saturday afternoon and evening to draft the documents they're preparing for the Secretary of State's Office and would probably resume meeting again Sunday.

Martin said, "We're not trying to change any outcomes" of the contests and questions on Boulder County voters' ballots, and "individual races are not under discussion."

But Martin said he and the three other canvass board members are concerned about the adequacy of the data and other information they've received and that they believe they need in order to properly analyze the abstract's precinct-by-precinct reports of votes cast and counted.

Geissler said in a separate Saturday night interview that "I'm inclined to certify" Boulder County's 2012 general election abstract of votes. But he said he's willing to look at the objections the four board members are raising, to see "if they found something" that would change his mind.

Geissler said Hall and her staff "have done a fantastic job" in working with the canvass board.

"She's gone way out of her way to be accommodating and provided far more information" than what canvass boards normally get from their county clerks, Geissler said. "She has sorted it all out and laid everything out."

Hall also said she and her staff gave the canvass board "everything they need" to perform the board's post-election responsibilities under Colorado law "We gave them more information than most counties do.

"And we gave them more time," Hall added, noting that many counties' canvass boards had wrapped up their work this past Wednesday.

Asked on Friday what might happen if a majority of Boulder County canvass board members refuse to sign off on certifying the final election results from the county, Rich Coolidge, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office, said in an email: "Our office will review the canvass board's report before certifying the election. At the same time, we still need to meet our timelines established under federal law."

Martin said that without the additional information that he and the three other canvass board members had hoped to get, the abstract of votes provided by the county clerk and her staff "is not making sense."

Martin said he can't vote on Monday to certify the accuracy of that abstract and forward it to the state, because "I can't gift-wrap a spoiled chicken."

Hall, however, characterized the four canvass board members' non-certification decision as "a stunt" and said that "it's important for voters to know that this has no impact." Once the secretary of state's office gets Boulder County's abstract, she said, "the results will be certified, shortly."

Colorado law specifies that a canvass board shall reconcile the ballots cast in a county's election to confirm that the number of ballots counted in that election doesn't exceed the number of ballots cast. The board also is charged with reconciling the ballots cast in each of the county's precincts, to confirm that the number of ballots cast doesn't exceed the number of registered electors in the precinct.

State law also says a canvass board shall certify the abstract of votes cast in the election and transmit that certification to the secretary of state. But it also says that when a majority of the board members are unable to certify the abstract, "for any reason," the board shall transmit the non-certified abstract to the secretary of state, along with a written report detailing the reason for non-certification.

Panthers brace for rematch of epic '13 playoff battleAs is typical for high school coaches at this stage of the season, Boulder boys basketball leader Eric Eisenhard didn't waste much time celebrating a big win. Full Story

New coordinator pushes Buffs to work, play at level he expectsJim Leavitt has discovered this much about his new defense at Colorado: He has some talent with which to work, but his players need to put it in another gear. Full Story